Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Heath Holland On...Musings in Analog

by Heath Holland
This week’s column is even better on Betamax.

I’m blaming it on Star Wars.

You know how people have complained about the fact that George Lucas refused to release the original theatrical cuts of his original trilogy after the 1995 VHS release? He did the same thing with The Phantom Menace, meaning the original cut that earned a billion dollars back in 1999 can only be found on videotape. Seeing as how I’ll be writing a super-duper nerdy piece about The Phantom Menace for this site in a couple of weeks, I wanted to see that original, theatrical cut of the film. This meant tracking down a VHS copy of the film, which was a problem, seeing as how I didn’t have a VCR with which to play it.

Now, after only one week, I’ve got two VCRs and a dozen VHS tapes, and I’m finding myself falling in love with the format all over again. I’m a VHS collector again for the first time since 1999, when I sold off all my tapes. I’m hitting thrift stores around town almost every day. Again, I’m blaming it on Star Wars. George Lucas raped my videotape collection.

Alas, these are the continuing adventures of a physical media collector. I’ve been banging on intermittently about how shiny disc sales are on the decline, but since I first wrote about this topic, some new statistics have emerged. The first shoe to drop comes with the prediction that digital sales are going to surpass disc sales as early as 2016, which is NEXT YEAR. Second, they (I don’t know who THEY are, but THEY know who they are) are predicting that DVDs and Blu-rays themselves will no longer be produced in as little as five years. It was big news when Fox announced recently that they were discontinuing production on their DVD sets of The Simpsons, and they’re just the first of many, it seems. Even though it’s been a talking point for several years now, the writing is finally on the wall: this party is almost over. Stuff everything you can into your pants and coat and run out the back.
But here’s the thing: physical collectors aren’t going to stop collecting; they’re going to plant themselves where they stand and become even more deeply entrenched in their hobby/passion. Those of us who have sizable collections aren’t likely going to get rid of it, are we? I mean, I see the drop in prices as a reason to stock up, not sell, sell, sell. So, in five years, if DVD and Blu-ray has truly stepped down in favor of digital, will there be any difference in WHAT format we collect? Will we be divided into Blu-ray collectors and DVD collectors, and VHS collectors, or just physical media collectors?

Back in September of 2013, Patrick wrote about the documentary Rewind This! and noted that the film touched on a lot of issues that current movie fans and collectors are facing. That film takes a loving look at the days of VHS and spotlights a group of people who have refused to let it go, even as the market itself dried up and withered away. This is the same place we find ourselves now with DVD, and soon with Blu-ray, so it’s important to look at how those fans handled the decline of something they loved. VHS collecting was just starting to gain more mainstream attention back in 2013, and was seen as more of a novelty than a genuine movement. Now here we are 18 months later, and things have changed.

First, let’s look at Gorgon Video. Gorgon is the horror movie arm of MPI Home Video, and it was Gorgon who released the notorious Faces of Death series on VHS back in the day. In May of 2014, Gorgon Video reopened its doors to the video-tape-buying public and once again started producing new media for its fans. You can now go to Gorgon-Video.com and purchase not only DVDs and Blu-rays of films like Death Spa and Starry Eyes, but brand new VHS tapes of some of Gorgon’s most infamous releases. A lot of credit goes to Ti West, who wanted his movie The House of the Devil to be available on videotape. The initial run of tapes sold out, but now they’re back in production so everyone who wants a videotape can get one.
Gorgon is not the only company that’s cranking out video cassette tapes; it’s become the cool thing to do these days. For 28 dollars plus shipping, you can get Kill, Granny, Kill, the new film from indie horror director Jacob Ennis, in a VHS/DVD combo pack that includes each version in its own packaging and comes with a full-size poster of the film’s cover art. Charles Band and our friends at FullMoonDirect.com have a pretty wide selection of VHS tapes on their website, mostly drawn from the Wizard Video catalog. Lest you think this is all limited to horror, the 400-tape limited edition run of Miami Connection, the rediscovered '80s action flick from Drafthouse Films, sold out an initial run and is currently back in production. WWE even released this year’s Wrestlemania 31 on a limited edition VHS, ten years after their last videotape release.

Something is happening here. I’m not suggesting that VHS is going to revive the sales of physical media, because that ship has sailed. But there does seem to be a renewed interest in analog, which is in stark contrast to the plummeting sales of newer media. In 2014, for instance, new vinyl album sales topped a million units for the first time in 20 years. That’s A MILLION new records in 2014, guys. While sales of music overall are on the decline, many of the people who are still buying it want something that they can hold and connect with, and that’s why they’re seeking out new records, which cost a premium. These numbers only account for NEW sales, and say nothing of the millions upon millions of sales happening at independent record stores and flea markets and second-hand shops on used copies of Destroyer from KISS and Led Zeppelin IV. People are coming back to old technology in a big way. Is this a glimpse into the future of movies on video, too?

It’s hard to say. For one thing, vinyl sounds better than digital, but VHS tapes most definitely do not look better than a Blu-ray or an HD digital copy. There’s bound to be a hipster element motivating this, too, but I’d like to think that the hipsters are in the minority on this VHS revival and that a lot of people are going analog for the right reasons, (they love movies). Plus, there’s purity in watching certain movies on VHS that you don’t get from a pristine digital presentation. I watched my Blu-ray of 1981’s Evil Dead a couple of days ago, after spending the earlier part of the week knee-deep in VHS tapes. If ever a movie demanded to be seen on a VHS tape, Evil Dead is it. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but clear picture and crystal sound do that movie a disservice. For movies that were made FOR video, watching them on video just feels so right.
It’s estimated that between 30% and 40% of all the content produced on VHS during its 30-year lifespan never made it off those tapes. That means that there are tens of thousands of movies and shows that will never be seen by a digital-only audience. The digital audience has sacrificed selection for convenience. You can stream thousands of movies from Netflix Instant, but you’re still limited to what they will show you. More and more people seem to be rejecting the box that digital-only content puts them in, and are willing to go back to older formats in order to watch what they want to watch, when they want to watch it.

Another huge selling point for VHS tapes is that they’re cheap. Currently, you can find VHS tapes all day long for a buck each, sometimes less. I’ve been at this for a whole week now (so I’m kind of an expert), and I’ve already scored sweet deals. I picked up some westerns from the 1950s which were never released on DVD, a Cannon movie, and some Disney films that I didn’t have because they’re in “the vault.” That Phantom Menace tape I was talking about? I got the widescreen collector’s edition, complete with 4 film cells and an art book, for a dollar. Oh, and that classic, unaltered Star Wars trilogy that people have been clamoring for since the 1997 special editions? I got all three of those on ebay for a total of one dollar (before shipping), too. Over 10 million copies of the trilogy were produced in 1995; all this stuff is out there in massive quantities, waiting to be rediscovered. They may not be anamorphic, or digitally remastered, or have all the matte lines wiped away, but they’re what people have been demanding, and there are enough copies of the trilogy out there that every fan who wants one could have one.

So that brings us up to now. These are really interesting times, and I’m curious to see what’s going to happen to us physical collectors when our media finally rides off into the sunset. We’ve got some choices headed our way, and we’re going to have to decide what’s more important: seeing a small number of movies in pristine quality via digital services, or going back to older technologies so we can watch whatever we want to watch on our own terms. There are just too many movies falling through the cracks these days, and thousands of films and shows from Hollywood’s golden age have gone MIA over the last 15 years as they failed to make the transition from tape to disc, much less streaming. Most of them aren’t on Netflix or iTunes, and I doubt we’ll get an Ultraviolet version of Saturday the 14th any time soon. But this stuff is out there, just waiting to be rediscovered. I wonder how many people will look.

17 comments:

  1. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Heath, but the Phantom Menace Special Collector's Edition VHS (the one in the big box with all the trinkets) is also not the one in theaters back '99. That tape had at least one of the deleted scenes put back in it. For the original Phantom Menace, you've got to snag the earlier, stand-alone release.

    As for the bigger picture, all the download/streaming for movies is convenient, but I feel it often makes movies feel disposable, rather than something to be cherished, the way collecting does. It's my hope that this disposable feeling doesn't mean filmmakers will lower their standards because it's "just online."

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    1. I didn't realize that about the Widescreen collector's edition, but luckily I do also have the Full Frame version. CRISIS AVERTED.

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  2. Excellent article. Heath. This was one of the best reads I have had in a long time, thank you! I'm not going to go on and on waxing on my love for VHS, Vinyl, and physical media in general but I will say this. Last year I really wanted to see True Detective and noticed that the digital version was 15 bucks cheaper so I figured, what the hell? Not only till after I finished watching it I realized something huge - there was no value to my digital version whatsoever. I couldn't put it on ebay, I couldn't slide it in with my other Blu Ray's and DVD's to collect dust and maybe pull it out in ten years, I couldn't bring it into my local CD Exchange place for store credit and couldn't even trade it or loan it to someone who hasn't seen it. To me, that was the deal breaker. Until I am forced to do so, I will NEVER purchase another digital film unless it's the only way possible to obtain it.

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    1. That's a really great point, and something I haven't really thought about. And not only do digital copies have no inherent value, but they also are ridiculously priced. An HD digital copy runs from $12.99 to $17.99, and you can often get the movies on disc WITH a digital copy included for a fraction of that. I recently picked up some titles on Blu-ray at Target for $4.75 each, and they came with free Ultraviolet copies, which would have cost over double what I paid if I had bought them on their own. What's the selling point? Convenience? Unencumberance? I think I just made up a word.

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    2. You said it - convenience. I would guess the digital copies are for tablets and cell phones; for people on the go, commuting, in college, etc... Unfortunately we are there now. Perhaps there are some people who buy them for storage as the digital file doesn't depreciate, but I would guess that is a small minority.

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    3. This is true. As I've said on the podcast (several times, probably) my students seem to want to watch a movie... And then for it to disappear.

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  3. I did not know that about phantom menace. I do still have my original full screen copy of the VHS though. I still display it proudly alongside my Men In Black VHS and my old blues brothers records. I wish the condition of my other old VHS tapes were still good. I should pick a machine up next time I'm at a thrift store.

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  4. I keep getting these emails for VUDU telling me they have big sales going on and I can get digital copies for like $8 instead of $15. I always thought, "Who's actually going to spend that much money to basically have the right to stream a movie and not actually own anything?" Apparently I was wrong. I have several digital copies, but they all came from buying a disc. I've basically only watched the ones my friends gave me from their discs. I just don't get it.

    Anyway, I'm not sure I'm ready to revert back to the VHS era, but I appreciate your enthusiasm for the subject!

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  5. For me as a well known Vhs lover, I won't be buying any new films on Vhs, its bluray all the way, VHS is all about Nostalgia, I want and collect all Pre-Cert unedited and uncensored movies, I want the First Edition, kinda like a book collector, I want the cheesy trailers, I want the Big box and the Glorious Artwork, anything from before 83 when the Video Nasties movement started is the holy grail, I havent bought anything on Vhs after that date apart from a few really nice looking Artworks that to me are like a piece of history, if like Vinyl it actually sounded better we could have a movement but it doesent, its nice to see people enjoying Vhs but for me its all about old Vhs movies not new ones, old Vhs is like capturing a piece of time, a part of history like watching Larry Cohens old New York movies and new Vhs feels like no more than a gimmick to me


    Great article Heath

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Dennis - this is going to be great once released! - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0764348671/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3CDWGSKNOZNXU&coliid=I6W9ZX3NKBQFX

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    3. I think that's pretty much where I come down on the new wave of VHS: they're for collectors, and are therefore nice as collectibles, but not ideal for watching a movie that's also available on DVD and Blu-ray. OLD tapes, on the other hand, are a completely different story. I feel the same way about records, too. Don't spend 30 dollars on a reissue of an album that sold millions of copies. Finding obscure gems is highly addictive, and I've gotten hooked on the thrill of the hunt. So much of the stuff I'm into just isn't in print, so going back to VHS puts a lot of things back on the table for me.

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    4. That book looks awesome, Chaybee!

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    5. Yeah old formats is all about old versions, I genuinely think about some of my Vhs as a piece of history to protect and preserve, new Vhs dosent do it for me at all and you may of heard about Charles band selling new Vhs movies because he said he found a box of old large big box Wizard boxes that are highly collectable, so your buying a newly made video cassette but in an old Big box original Wizard box and for $50
      It all seems bonkers to me
      Good news about your new hobby Heath is it wont break the bank and part of the thrill is the hunt, enjoy

      Chaybee That book looks awsome, thats my birthday present sorted

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    6. I never followed up about this book - man was I let down! I finally got around to buying it and was so disappointed that they weren't the covers I remembered as a kid as they were the UK covers for these films. All of them! Ugh...anyway, Amazon rules and let me return it but maybe some older F-this movie readers from the UK would love this.

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  6. Cool article Heath.
    I have always wanted to collect film. Maybe 16mm. I already have a Bolex 16mm camera. Film is just so easy to get lost in. (the warmth and Flicker) There seem to be quite a few 16mm reels on Ebay. Finding a decent projector at a good price may be difficult.

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  7. I didn't realize that this was possible! I have a ton of home videos and old films that I would love to see now. It sounds like it's not too hard of a process to convert those VHS tapes to digital formats. I'm sure my wife would like to see the videos of our kids walking or in their first plays. I could also watch my old western movies again. VHS to DVD Transfer

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